ABSOLUTE ESCAPE FROM TEMPTATION

Written in 2009
by Tony Alamo
aka Bernie Hoffman

As born-again Christians, we must believe the Scriptures regarding the death, resurrection, and ascension of JESUS into the kingdom of Heaven.1 It is just as important for us to believe that we are, at this very time, sitting with CHRIST in heavenly places. “GOD, who is rich in mercy, for HIS great love wherewith HE loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with CHRIST, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in CHRIST JESUS” (Ephesians 2:4-6).

In Ephesians 1:17-23, the Apostle Paul prayed “That the GOD of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, the FATHER of glory, may give unto you the SPIRIT of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of HIM: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of HIS calling, and what the riches of the glory of HIS inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of HIS power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of HIS mighty power, Which HE wrought in CHRIST, when HE raised him from the dead, and set HIM at HIS own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under HIS feet, and gave HIM to be the head over all things to the church, Which is HIS body, the fulness of HIM that filleth all in all.

Praying for the FATHER to give you the SPIRIT of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of HIM, and that the eyes of your understanding will be enlightened, is a prayer that all Christians should pray for themselves in order to grow in the LORD.

JESUS said that HE was with HIS disciples, but after HIS resurrection and ascension, HE would be IN them (and in us).2 We are anchored in JESUS and overcome temptation when we constantly remind ourselves that JESUS is alive in us and that we are alive in HIM, sitting with HIM in heavenly places. Because we walk obediently with the LORD, led by HIS SPIRIT, and allow GOD to do HIS work in us, we will be hidden from the hour of temptation.3

We must keep in mind that “greater is HE that is in [us], than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Christians who are tempted are immediately released from the temptation when they refuse to allow Satan any access to their minds, consistently reject every ungodly thought, and keep their minds focused on the LORD and HIS WORD.4

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through GOD to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of GOD, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of CHRIST” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

We are not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices used against us. This Scripture from James gives us the key to why anyone falls into temptation: “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the LORD hath promised to them that love HIM. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of GOD: for GOD cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth HE any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:12-15).

GOD is a SPIRIT, not a ghost, and those who worship HIM must worship HIM in their spirit (with the HOLY SPIRIT) and in truth (John 4:24). It does no good to repeat prayers over and over again which are not from your heart. JESUS taught, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking” (Matthew 6:7). Seek our loving SAVIOR and talk to HIM from your heart. HE will honor it and hear you. JESUS said, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the FATHER in spirit and in truth: for the FATHER seeketh such to worship HIM” (John 4:23).

The FATHER was always with and in JESUS when HE was here as a man (John 8:29, 10:30, 14:10-11, 17:21-23). JESUS was the SON of GOD, but walked the earth as a man in human flesh as we do. HE referred to HIMSELF as the SON of MAN.5 HE had to be anchored to the FATHER in Heaven because human flesh is just that. “The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38). JESUS stayed in constant communion with the FATHER, and only said and did what the FATHER told HIM.6 How much more must we rely on JESUS, the WORD of GOD, living in us by the HOLY SPIRIT to be powerful and ready? Ready for what? Ready for the rebuke and resistance of all temptation! Ready for every trial! Ready for every persecution! Ready for a martyr’s death! Ready for anything and everything!

We also have this promise we can rely on: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but GOD is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). With GOD there is nothing you cannot overcome!

So, it is of the utmost importance for CHRIST HIMSELF to live in us by the SPIRIT, and for us to continually abide with CHRIST in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:4-6). When we do this, many “exceeding great and precious promises” are ours (2 Peter 1:3-4).

“HE that dwelleth in the secret place of the MOST HIGH shall abide under the shadow of the ALMIGHTY. I will say of the LORD, HE is my refuge and my fortress: my GOD; in HIM will I trust. Surely HE shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. HE shall cover thee with HIS feathers, and under HIS wings shalt thou trust: HIS truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the MOST HIGH, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling” (Psalm 91:1-10).

CHRIST promises to keep you if you will commit your life to HIM and abide in HIM in heavenly places! But you must discipline yourself to do this! You must discipline yourself to be disciplined by the HOLY SPIRIT, and have “CHRIST in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). We cannot sleep or slumber spiritually!7 You and I must fight the good fight of faith.8 Like the Apostle Paul, we will be able to say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the LORD, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love HIS appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Faith comes by hearing the WORD of GOD, so we must study the Bible and meditate on it until it is written upon our hearts.9 Then we use the shield of faith to block all the arrows of Satan.10 To win every war, we must fight with the SWORD of the SPIRIT, which is the WORD of GOD.11

At the beginning of JESUS’ ministry, HE was led by GOD’S SPIRIT into the desert where HE fasted for forty days. Satan was there to tempt the LORD. But JESUS, who is the WORD, used the WORD to successfully answer every temptation of Satan (Matthew 4:1-11). JESUS kept answering him with, “It is written.” He quoted the WORD of GOD, the SWORD of the SPIRIT. We must follow HIS example. We can take down every evil thought and every temptation when we speak the WORD of GOD.

The Bible is also filled with the testimonies of many prophets and fully committed servants of GOD as examples for us to follow. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto JESUS the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before HIM endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of GOD” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

When a person is in the tumultuous sea and about to drown, they must fight to get to the safe haven of shore with all their might. You cannot just pray; you must pray and swim, or at least try to swim! The book of James states, “Thou believest that there is one GOD; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:19-20).12 Remember, the LORD promises to go through everything with you and will never leave or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).13 So, take up your SWORD of the SPIRIT and your shield of faith and fight! Victory is yours!

By receiving this short but true message, you will for sure be free from every temptation! This will also give you full assurance that you are saved and on your way to Heaven because you will experience the power of JESUS living in you, healing you, anointing you, and keeping you in HIS life while you are in your mortal body here on earth. Your body is the temple of GOD, where JESUS, the fullness of the GODHEAD bodily, lives.14 You are spiritually alive and will overcome by the HOLY SPIRIT living in you.

If you have never been born again of the SPIRIT of GOD, now is the time. JESUS said you must be born of the SPIRIT to enter Heaven (John 3:3-8). To receive your salvation, the forgiveness of your past sins, and begin your new life in CHRIST, say this prayer to GOD now:

Prayer

My LORD and my GOD, have mercy upon my soul, a sinner. 1 I believe that JESUS CHRIST is the SON of the living GOD. 2 I believe that HE died on the cross and shed HIS precious blood for the forgiveness of all my former sins. 3 I believe that GOD raised JESUS from the dead by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT 4 and that HE sits on the right hand of GOD at this moment, hearing my confession of sin and this prayer. 5 I open up the door of my heart, and I invite YOU into my heart, LORD JESUS. 6 Wash all of my filthy sins away in the precious blood that YOU shed in my place on the cross at Calvary. 7 YOU will not turn me away, LORD JESUS; YOU will forgive my sins and save my soul. I know because YOUR WORD, the Bible, says so. 8 YOUR WORD says that YOU will turn no one away, and that includes me. 9 Therefore, I know that YOU have heard me, and I know that YOU have answered me, and I know that I am saved. 10 And I thank YOU, LORD JESUS, for saving my soul, and I will show my thankfulness by doing as YOU command and sin no more.11

After salvation, JESUS said to be baptized, fully submerged in water, in the name of the FATHER, and of the SON, and of the HOLY SPIRIT.12 Then study the King James Version Bible, and, for your benefit and the benefit of others, do what it says.13

CHRIST and GOD the FATHER now live in you through the HOLY SPIRIT. There is a way you can receive a fuller portion of the divine nature of GOD in you. The more the divine nature of GOD lives in you, the more you will be able to stand against the temptations that have so easily moved so many millions of Christians away from salvation. Pray for the baptism in the HOLY SPIRIT.14 For instructions on how to receive the baptism in the HOLY SPIRIT and to receive more of GOD’S holy nature, ask for our literature or call. For without holiness, no man shall see GOD (Hebrews 12:14).

The LORD wants you to tell others of your salvation (Mark 16:15). You can become a distributor of Pastor Tony Alamo’s Gospel literature. We’ll send you literature free of charge. Call or email us for more information. Share this message with someone else.

If you want the world saved, as JESUS commands, then don’t rob GOD of HIS tithes and offerings. GOD said, “Will a man rob GOD? Yet ye have robbed ME. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed THEE? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed ME, even this whole nation [and this whole world]. Bring ye all the tithes [a ‘tithe’ is 10% of your gross income] into the storehouse, that there may be meat [Spiritual food] in MINE house [souls saved], and prove ME now herewith, saith the LORD of HOSTS, if I will not open you the windows of Heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of HOSTS. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of HOSTS” (Malachi 3:8-12).


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footnotes:

1. Matt. 27:26-60, 28:1-7, Acts 2:22-32, 1 Cor. 15:6 return

2. Ezek. 11:19-20, 36:25-27, John 14:16-21, 15:26, 16:7, 17:18-23, 2 Cor. 6:16, 1 John 4:13 return

3. Psa. 31:19-20, 32:5-10, 91:1-15, Heb. 2:18, Rev. 3:10 return

4. Josh. 1:8, Psa. 1:2-3, Isa. 26:3, 2 Cor. 10:3-5, Eph. 4:27, Col. 3:1-3, James 4:7, 1 Pet. 1:13-16 return

5. Matt. 8:20, 9:6, 12:8, 32, 40, 16:27 return

6. John 5:17, 19-20, 30, 8:28, 38, 12:49-50, 14:10, 15:15 return

7. Matt. 25:1-13 return

8. Eph. 6:13-18, 1 Tim. 6:12, 2 Tim. 4:7-8 return

9. Deut. 17:18-20, Josh. 1:8, Matt. 4:4, John 8:31-32, 15:3-7, Eph. 6:11-17, Col. 3:16, 2 Thes. 2:15, 2 Tim. 2:15, 3:14-17, James 1:21, 1 Pet. 2:2 return

10. Eph. 6:16 return

11. Eph. 6:17, Heb. 4:12, Rev. 1:13-16 return

12. Matt. 5:16, Eph. 2:10, 1 Tim. 2:9-10, 6:17-19, Titus 2:14, Heb. 10:24, James 2:14-26, 3:13, 1 Pet. 2:11-12 return

13. Matt. 28:20, John 14:15-23, 16:7 return

14. 1 Cor. 3:16-17, 6:15-20, 2 Cor. 6:16, Eph. 2:18-22, 1 John 4:13 return


Prayer footnotes:

1. Psa. 51:5, Rom. 3:10-12, 23 return

2. Matt. 26:63-64, 27:54, Luke 1:30-33, John 9:35-37, Rom. 1:3-4 return

3. Acts 4:12, 20:28, Rom. 3:25, I John 1:7, Rev. 5:9 return

4. Psa. 16:9-10, Matt. 28:5-7, Mark 16:9, 12, 14, John 2:19, 21, 10:17-18, 11:25, Acts 2:24, 3:15, Rom. 8:11, I Cor. 15:3-7 return

5. Luke 22:69, Acts 2:25-36, Heb. 10:12-13 return

6. I Cor. 3:16, Rev. 3:20 return

7. Eph. 2:13-22, Heb. 9:22, 13:12, 20-21, I John 1:7, Rev. 1:5, 7:14 return

8. Matt. 26:28, Acts 2:21, 4:12, Eph. 1:7, Col. 1:14 return

9. Matt. 21:22, John 6:35, 37-40, Rom. 10:13 return

10. Heb. 11:6 return

11. John 5:14, 8:11, Rom. 6:4, I Cor. 15:10, Rev. 7:14, 22:14 return

12. Matt. 28:18-20, John 3:5, Acts 2:38, 19:3-5 return

13. Deut. 4:29, 13:4, 26:16, Josh. 1:8, 22:5, 2 Tim. 2:15, 3:14-17, James 1:22-25, Rev. 3:18 return

14. Isa. 28:11-12, Joel 2:28-29, Luke 3:16, 11:9-13, John 1:29-34, 7:37-39, 14:15-29, 15:26, 16:7-14, Acts 1:1-8, 2:1-18, 32-39, 5:29-32, 19:1-7, Rom. 5:3-5, 15:13 return